Surge car



Nov. 20, 1962 c. J. MANNEY 3,

SURGE CAR Filed April 13, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 mmvrom CHARL 55d MANNEY awwfw fim ATTORNEYS.

Nov. 20, 1962 c. J. MANNEY 3,064,837

SURGE CAR Filed April 15, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 il 4 INVENTOR.

CHARLES 1 MAN/VEY ATTORNEYS ilnited rates 3,064,837 SURGE CAR Charles J. Manney, Kenmore, N.Y., assignor to Columbus McKinnon Corporation, a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 13, 1960, Ser. No. 21,912 2 Claims. (Cl. 214-8336) This invention relates to loading and conveying equipment for mined materials; and more particularly to a type of apparatus which is sometimes referred to as a surge car, for use for example in the coal mining industry in connection with so-called continuous mining machines.

Mining or loading machines of various types often deliver material in erratic flow or batch fashion. Such machines, even when designated for example as continuous miners actually operate to provide somewhat intermittent or pulsating delivery of coal or other mined material whereby the delivery at one moment is excessive and at another moment is at a minimum; with the result that such delivery might be defined as suring.

However, the outputs of such mining machines must be promptly handled by intermediate transfer devices, such as for example by a conventional shuttle haulage system for transfer of the mined materials to the mine entrance or main conveyor, or the like. In a typical shuttle haulage system the cars travel back and forth between the miner and an ultimate discharge point, and therefore the transfer of mined material from the miner to the shuttle cars is necessarily intermitten. Accordingly, for efficient overall operation, it is necessary that substantial quantities of mined material be temporarily stored while the individual shuttle car travel and unload and return to the miner. If temporary storage is not provided, the miner and shuttle cars and ultimate conveyance cannot be operated at their respective optimum rates, and will be constantly Waiting on one another. Hence, so-called surge car are sometimes employed with a view to smoothing out the so-called surging" output of the miner and to intermittently discharge into the individual shuttle car as they arrive for reloading after each trip to their discharge station.

It is an object of the present invention to provide de livery of the contents of a mining machine or loading machine, either to a conveyor system or a shuttle car haulage system, or the like, so as to permit such machines to operate to full capacities.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved surge car having adequate storage facilities and being adapted to intermittently deliver at high rate previously stored mined material to individual units of a shuttle haulage system, or the like, whereby to avoid shut downs or reduction in output of the associated mining or loading machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved surge car which comprises essentially a multiple conveyor system of novel form which is so controllable in operation as to provide ample temporary storage space for ore or coal as it is delivered by the associated miner, despite fluctuations and intermittent delivery from the miner; and prompt loadings of the take-away shuttle cars or the like.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the specification hereinafter.

In the drawing herewith:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of one form of surge car embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan thereof;

FIG. 3 is a section, on enlarged scale, taken on line Ill-J11 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a discharge end elevational view of the machine.

As shown in the drawing, the main body of the surge car may be formed to include tWo side walls as indicated at 10, 11; keel channels 12; cross sills 14-44; and a rear end closure wall plate 16. sloping hopper Walls 18-48 are provided along the insides of the wall plates l011, and rear end hopper plates 19-19 are also provided as shown. Running lengthwise down the center of the machine is a dividing wall 22 of inverted V shape, whereby two separated compartments, or conveyor receiving channels are provided to accommodate two endless chain and flight conveyor assemblies each comprising chains 25 and cross flights 26. At their loading ends the conveyors extend under the end hopper plates 1919 so as to properly receive material discharged from the continuous miner or other primary loading machine as indicated fragmentarily at 23 (FIG. 1, 2.)

The conveyor chains train around appropriate sprockets 3t 32 at the loading and unloading ends of the machine respectively and the conveyors are arranged to incline upwardly toward the discharge end of the machine as shown in FIG. 1. Bottom plates 34 are disposed beneath the top runs of the conveyors so that the scraper flights slide along the plates 34 to drag upwardly toward the discharge end of the machine any material that may be dumped onto the conveyors at the intake end of the machine. The conveyors are individually powered as by corresponding motors 36, driving belts 38 and reduction gear devices 39 which drive the corresponding conveyors through means of belts 40. The motors 36-46 are individually controlled by means of an appropriate switch board as indicated at 42; the control system being arranged to provide for selection start-stop control of the conveyors to run either at low or high speed.

Thus, by virtue of the present invention the loading boom 28 (FIGS. 1, 2) of the mining machine may be swung alternately to discharge into the intake end of either conveyor system, and commencing with initial operation of the machine the machine attendant will manipulate the control switches so as to inch the conveyor which is first being loaded forwardly as the filling of the intake end of the conveyor hopper requires. At any moment, Whenever a shuttle car moves into loading position as indicated for example at 56 (FIG. 1) the machine attendant may shift the conveyor control to high speed so as to quickly deliver a full load of material to the shuttle car. if, however, the first conveyor hopper becomes fully loaded with material (as a result of the inching forward motion of the conveyor) before opportunity occurs for unloading this conveyor, the loading boom 28 may then be swung over to discharge onto the other conveyor, and the latter will then be gradually loaded by a similar inching process as explained hereinabove. Then, whenever a shuttle car arrives either conveyor may be controlled to run at high speed, to deliver a full load to the shuttle car in minimum time.

Thus it will be appreciated that the feeder of the invention is of novel form providing enhanced versatility of material receiving and storing and delivering capabilities, whereby the associated mining machine may operate in accord with its maximum opportunities without regard to the operations of the associated shuttle cars or final conveyance, and visa versa.

It will of course be understood that although only one form of the invention has been described and illustrated herein, various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims. For example, whereas the machine illustrated includes two conveyor mechanisms operable as separate sections of the feeder device, any other number of conveyor sections may be provided, to achieve the desired versatility and temporary storage capacity. Also, the machine may be mounted for transport in any preferred manner, such as on conventional type crawler mounts "as indicated at "55 scparatelypowered "by motors 56 and chain drives 58.

I claim:

1. A mining machine'of the surge car type comprising a mobile unit adapted to receive batch loading of loose material and to discharge same from a delivery end portion of said machine.

said machine including a pair of spaced vertical side wall plates interconnected at one end by a rear end wall plate and being open at the opposite end,

a first pair of channel members disposed in parallel, opposed'relation and extending longitudinally from the read end to the open end of saidside wall plates with the outer of said channel members spaced inwardly'from one ofsaid side walls,

a' hopperwall connected to and extending downwardly from said one side wall toan-upper portion of said outer channel member.

said hopper wall extending from the rear to the 'open end of said side walls and being joined to said outer channel member,

a second pair of channel members disposed in parallel, opposed'relation and extending longitudinally from the rear end to the open end of said side walls with the outer of such second pair of channel members being spaced inwardly from the other of said side walls,

a hopper wall connected to and extending downwardly from said other side wall to an upper portion of the last mentioned outer channel member,

the last mentioned hopper wall extending from the rear to the open end of said side walls and being joined to said last mentioned outer channel member,

the inner channel members of the aforesaid two pairs of channel members being disposed in spaced relation,

a dividing wall of invertedV-shape extending from the rear to the open end of said side walls with the lower ends of the divergentlegs thereof joined to upper portions of respective ones of said inner channel members,

said hopper Walls and said dividing wall being of substantially the same vertical height, an endless conveyor assembly mounted between each pair of channel members and defining a materialtransporting bottom extending therebetween and from the rear to the open end of said side walls, 7

drive means for each of said endless conveyor assemblies,

and control means for individually regulating the'movements of said conveyor within a control range'ineluding stop, start, slow speed, and high speed opernations.

2. The machine as defined in claim 1 wherein each endless conveyor assembly includes a pair of endless conveyor chains housed within the individual channel members of a respective-pair of channel memberaand'cross flights interconnecting. such chains.

References Cited in the file ofv this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,301,543 Hlavaty -Nov. 10, 1942 2,670,836 'Ball Mar. 2, 1954 2,709,011 Radin et al. May 24, 1955 2,710,105 Schwartz June 7, 1955 2,962,176 Russell Nov. 29, 1960 

